UPDATED: Chuck Hagel’s Confirmation Hearings Didn’t Go So Well Today…

…which is kind of like saying that Lincoln didn’t particularly enjoy Our American Cousin at the theatre.

This was worse than if President Obama had nominated the loudmouthed drunk at the end of the neighborhood bar to be Secretary of Defense, because the loudmouthed drunk at the end of the neighborhood bar doesn’t have a long record of completely insane and stupid statements in print and on video that he’d have to try to defend at his confirmation hearing.

Which Hagel does. And that served to bite him in the derriere today…often.

Here was Ted Cruz’ crack at Hagel…

And here was Lindsey Graham’s turn at bat…

John McCain got some licks in as well…

This part didn’t go all that well – if you’re the nominee for Secretary of Defense it’s probably not so good to call an Iranian government which stole an election in 2009 and touched off an unfortunately-failed popular revolution (which the president missed an opportunity to support), “legitimate”…

That goofy statement came back to haunt chief White House press flack Jay Carney later in the day…

We think Hagel probably still gets confirmed – so far there hasn’t been a Democrat who has come out against him, and when Chuck Schumer proclaimed him kosher it was an indication that his anti-Israel comments don’t rise to the level of justifying an intra-party slap at the president.

But it’s pretty clear that this is (1) an irresponsible, thoughtless man not well suited to a job of the stature of that which he seeks, and (2) a lousy implementer of American policy.

Exit question: in case today’s performance were to blow Hagel’s chances and the smarter-but-more-left-wing Melissa Flournoy were to take his place – was Hagel a stalking horse for Flournoy all along?

UPDATE: We haven’t shown you the half of this. Here comes Kelly Ayotte…